Electric hair grooming appliance including touchscreen

ABSTRACT

An electric hair grooming appliance is configured to have one or more operations to facilitate grooming of hair. The electric hair grooming appliance includes a control circuit, and a touchscreen for receiving one or more inputs from a user and to facilitate communication between the user and the control circuit. The touchscreen is configured to send one or more command signals to the control circuit in response to receiving the one or more inputs from the user. The control circuit is configured to control one or more operations of the electric hair grooming appliance in response to receiving one or more of the command signals.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to an electric hair groomingappliance, and more particularly to an electric hair grooming applianceincluding a touchscreen.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Many different types of electric hair grooming appliances are availablefor use in grooming hair. For example, such electric hair groomingappliances include curling irons, flat irons (which are also sometimesreferred to as heated tongs or hair straighteners), blow dryers, hairsetters (also known as hot rollers or curlers), and electric hairremovers, such as foil shavers, rotary shavers, trimmers, clippers, andepilators.

Most electric hair grooming appliances include mechanical controls, suchas buttons and knobs, to allow a user to control certain operations ofthe electric grooming appliance. These mechanical controls may bedifficult to use for some users, particularly for users suffering fromarthritis and other physical ailments of their hands. Moreover, thebulkiness of the mechanical controls limits the functions and operationsof the hair grooming appliances that can be controlled by the user.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, an electric, handheld hair grooming appliance generallycomprises a housing, and at least one hair grooming device carried bythe housing and adapted to facilitate grooming of hair. The at least onehair grooming device is adapted to perform an operation using electricalenergy applied thereto. A control circuit is in the housing and incommunication with the at least one hair grooming device. A touchscreenis on at least one of the at least one hair grooming device and thehousing for receiving at least one input from a user and to facilitatecommunication between the user and the control circuit. The touchscreenis configured to send at least one command signal to the control circuitin response to receiving said at least one input from the user. Thecontrol circuit is configured to control the operation of the at leastone hair grooming device in response to receiving the at least onecommand signal.

In another aspect, a method of controlling an operation of an electrichair grooming appliance generally comprises receiving an input using atouchscreen of the electric hair grooming appliance. The inputcorresponds to a desired setting of at least one operating parameter ofthe appliance. A command signal is sent from the touchscreen to acontrol circuit of the electric hair grooming appliance in response toreceiving the input. The operation of the electric hair groomingappliance is controlled using the control circuit in response toreceiving the command signal.

In yet another aspect, an electric hair grooming appliance is configuredto have an operation to facilitate grooming of hair. The electric hairgrooming appliance generally comprises a control circuit, and atouchscreen for receiving at least one input from a user and tofacilitate communication between the user and the control circuit. Thetouchscreen is configured to send at least one command signal to thecontrol circuit in response to receiving the at least one input from theuser. The control circuit is adapted to control the operation of theelectric hair grooming appliance in response to receiving the at leastone command signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an electric hairgrooming appliance including a touchscreen;

FIG. 2 is a right elevational view of the electric hair groomingappliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of the touchscreen of theelectric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a system of theelectric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 1, including the touchscreen, acontrol circuit, and a comb-driving assembly;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of a second embodiment ofthe touchscreen of the electric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a system of theelectric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 1, including the touchscreen,the control circuit, the comb-driving assembly, and a blade-drivingassembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an electric hairgrooming appliance including a touchscreen;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, perspective view of a lower arm of the electrichair grooming appliance of FIG. 7, with a heating member assemblyexploded therefrom;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a system of theelectric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 7, including the touchscreen, acontrol circuit, and a heating member assembly; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged front elevational view of the touchscreen of theelectric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged front elevational view of a screen displaying agraphical output of the electric hair grooming appliance of FIG. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings, several embodiments of electric hair groomingappliances are provided. As explained in more detail below, eachillustrated hair grooming appliance is configured to have at least oneoperation which facilitates grooming of hair. Each illustrated hairgrooming appliance includes a touchscreen to allow a user to communicatewith a control circuit of the hair grooming appliance. The touchscreenis configured to receive an input from a user and send a command signalto the control circuit. The control circuit is configured to control oneor more operations of the hair grooming appliance in response toreceiving the command signal.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, in this illustrated embodiment theelectric hair grooming appliance is generally in the form of a hairremoving appliance, generally indicated at 101. More specifically, theillustrated hair removing appliance 101 is generally in the form of ahair trimmer including a housing 112, a blade head assembly (broadly, ahair-removing assembly), indicated generally at 114 (FIG. 2), and adrive assembly (not shown) for operating the blade head assembly.Together, the blade head assembly and drive assembly constitute ahair-removing device (broadly, a hair grooming device). The illustratedhousing 112, or a portion thereof, is suitably sized and shaped as ahandle so that it is easily held in a user's hand. The drive assemblygenerally comprises an electric drive motor (not shown) or otherelectric device. The drive motor may be powered by one or more batterieswithin the housing and/or by another suitable internal or externalelectrical power source. Referring to FIG. 2, the blade head assembly114 generally comprises a stationary blade 140 and a reciprocating blade142 (broadly, a hair-removing member). The drive assembly 116 isconfigured to drive reciprocating motion of the reciprocating blade 142relative to the stationary blade 140. Such reciprocating motion of thereciprocating blade 142 cuts hair disposed between the blades. Thetrimmer 101 may be of other configurations without departing from thescope of the present invention.

The illustrated trimmer 101 also includes an adjustable comb assembly150 (broadly, a hair grooming device), including a comb 151 that isselectively movable relative to the blade head assembly 114 throughoperation of a comb-driving assembly 154 (illustrated schematically inFIG. 4) within the housing. The comb assembly 150 allows a user tocontrol a hair cut-length setting of the trimmer, which corresponds tothe length of hair after being cut. The comb-driving assembly 154 mayinclude an electric drive motor or other electrical device, and atransmission mechanism (not shown) coupling the motor to the comb todrive movement of the comb 151 to a plurality of different haircut-length settings. The comb 151 may be selectively positionable to adiscrete number of predetermined hair cut-length settings, or the combassembly may be positionable to an infinite number of hair cut-lengthsettings. It is understood that the trimmer 101 may not include a combassembly without departing from the scope of the present invention.Moreover, the trimmer 101 may include other hair grooming devices, inaddition to or in lieu of one or both of the illustrated hair groomingdevices set forth above.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 and as set forth above, the trimmer 101includes a touchscreen, generally indicated at 160, to allow a user tocontrol one or more operations of the trimmer. The touchscreen 160 is inelectrical communication with a control circuit 162, which is disposedin the housing 112. The control circuit 162 may include a singlecontroller (e.g., microcontroller), one or more controllers (e.g.,microcontrollers), or one or more other electrical devices (e.g.,processor, memory, and input/output peripherals) in communication withone another. In one embodiment, illustrated schematically in FIG. 4, thetouchscreen 160 provides a user interface for a user to communicate withthe control circuit 162 so that the user can select a desired haircut-length setting of the trimmer 101. Thus, the touchscreen 160 isadapted to receive one or more inputs from the user. The touchscreen 160may be any suitable type of touchscreen, including but not limited to aresistive touchscreen, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreen, asurface capacitance touchscreen, a projected capacitance touchscreen, aninfrared touchscreen, an optical imaging touchscreen, a dispersivetechnology touchscreen, and an acoustic recognition touchscreen. Thetouchscreen 102, or another screen 161 (FIG. 11), may function as anoutput interface having a visual indicator indicative of the operationcontrolled by the touchscreen.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the illustrated embodiment, the touchscreen160 generates graphical inputs, such as icons in the form of right andleft arrows 160a, 160b, respectively, to indicate the input locations onthe touchscreen to respectively increase and decrease the cut-lengthsetting. The icons 160a, 160b may be of other configurations and/or ofother symbols without departing from the scope of the present invention.In response to a finger or other object (e.g., a stylus) touching thelocation on the touchscreen 160 corresponding to the right arrow icon160a (i.e., in response to an input by the user), the touchscreen sendsa first command signal to the control circuit 162. In response toreceiving the command signal, the control circuit 162 sends anelectrical first control signal to the comb-driving assembly 154. Thecomb-driving assembly 154, in turn, moves the comb 151 a predeterminedamount relative to the blade head assembly 114 to increase thecut-length setting by a predetermined increment in response to receivingthe electrical first control signal. In response to a finger or otherobject (e.g., a stylus) touching the location on the touchscreen 160corresponding to the left arrow icon 160b (i.e., in response to an inputby the user), the touchscreen sends a different, second command signalto the control circuit 162. In response to receiving the second commandsignal, the control circuit 162 sends a different, electrical secondcontrol signal to the comb-driving assembly 154. The comb-drivingassembly 154, in turn, moves the comb 151 a predetermined amountrelative to the blade head assembly 114 to decrease the cut-lengthsetting by a predetermined increment in response to receiving theelectrical second control signal. In an alternative embodiment, indiciaincluding up and down arrow markings may be applied to the surface ofthe touchscreen instead of the touchscreen generating graphical icons.

The illustrated touchscreen 160 also generates graphical output 166 tocommunicate the selected hair-cut length setting to the user. In oneexample, the trimmer 101 may have hair cut-length settings ranging fromabout 0.2 mm to about 5.0 mm, in increments of about 0.2 mm. Thus, thegraphical output 166 is able to output any numeral from 0.2 mm to 5.0mm, in increments of 0.2 mm. The trimmer 101 may have other haircut-length settings without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. Moreover, the output communicating the hair-cut lengthsetting may be separate from the touchscreen 160 without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the trimmer 101 also includes a lockingcontrol 170 (FIG. 1) for selectively locking the touchscreen 160 toprevent inadvertent adjustment of the hair cut-length setting, and tofacilitate selective unlocking of the touchscreen to allow adjustment ofthe hair cut-length setting. In particular, the locking control 170 ofthe illustrated embodiment comprises one or more mechanical push buttonsor other mechanical switches. The push button 170 has indicia indicatingits functions of selectively locking and unlocking the touchscreen 160.The touchscreen 160 may generate one or more icons, such as locking icon172 for indicating when the touchscreen is locked. In another example,the touchscreen 160 may generate one or more graphical icons to indicatethe location(s) on the touchscreen to respectively lock and unlock thetouchscreen. Other ways of providing a way of locking and unlocking thetouchscreen 160 do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

The touchscreen 160 may also be configured to facilitate control ofother operations of the trimmer 101 in addition to or in lieu ofcontrolling the movement and positioning of the comb 151 relative to theblade head assembly 114. For example, FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary secondembodiment of a touchscreen 160′ for use on a trimmer. This touchscreen160′ allows the user to adjust a speed-setting of the reciprocatingblade 142, as well as control the hair cut-length setting, such at setforth above. In such an example, the touchscreen 160′ may generategraphical inputs, such as icons in the form of up and down arrows 160b,160c, respectively, or other symbols, in addition to the left and rightarrows for controlling the hair cut-length setting. In response to theuser touching the respective locations on the touchscreen 160′corresponding to the respective up and down arrow icons, 160c, 160d, thetouchscreen sends respective third and fourth command signals to thecontrol circuit 162. The control circuit 162, in response to receivingthe respective third and fourth command signals, sends respective thirdand fourth control signals to the drive assembly, illustratedschematically at 166 in FIG. 6, to respectively increase and decreasethe speed of the reciprocating blade 142 by a selected increment to aselected speed-setting. The selected speed-setting may be communicatedto the user as a graphical output 168, which may represent a percentageof the full speed of the reciprocating blade. Other ways ofcommunicating the selected speed-setting to the user do not depart fromthe scope of the present invention.

Within the scope of the present invention are other types of hairremoving appliances including a touchscreen, which may be similar oridentical to the touchscreen 160 and/or 160′ set forth above, to allow auser to communicate with a control circuit of the hair removingappliance. As non-limiting examples, other types of hair removingappliances within the scope of the present invention include foilshavers, rotary shavers, hair clippers, and epilators. Within the scopeof the present invention, each of these hair removing appliancesincludes the touchscreen (e.g., touchscreen 160 or 160′) incommunication with a control circuit; a drive assembly including, forexample, an electric motor, which is driven by electric energy such asfrom a battery source or another source of electrical energy; and amovable hair-removing member (e.g., a rotary blade in the rotary shaver,an oscillating blade in the hair clipper, and pinching plates and/ortweezing members in the epilator) operatively coupled to the electricmotor and configured for removing hair. Each of these exemplary hairremoving appliances may include other hair grooming devices in additionto the hair grooming device comprising the hair-removing member and thedrive assembly. In each of these additional exemplary hair removingappliances, the control circuit is configured to receive a commandsignal from the touchscreen in response to an input, and in response toreceiving the command signal, the control circuit controls an operationof at least one of the hair grooming devices of the hair removingappliance by sending a control signal to the hair grooming device Forexample, in each of the exemplary hair removing appliances describedherein, the control circuit may be configured to control the speed ofthe corresponding movable hair-removing member.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-10 a second embodiment of an electric hairgrooming appliance including a touchscreen is generally indicated at 201(FIG. 7). In general, this embodiment 201 is adapted to apply heat tohair, as explained in more detail below, and more specifically, theillustrated hair styling apparatus is in the form of a flat iron. Theillustrated flat iron 201 is generally elongate with oppositelongitudinal ends and has first and second arms, generally indicated at203a and 203b, respectively, held in assembly with each other by asuitable pivot connection 204 at one of the longitudinal ends of theflat iron. The first and second arms 203a, 203b are thus moveablerelative to one another and about a pivot axis of the pivot connection204 between an open position (FIG. 7) of the flat iron 201 and a closedposition (not illustrated) thereof. A biasing member in the form of acompression spring (not shown) is suitably positioned between the firstand second arms 203a, 203b adjacent to the pivot connection 204 to urgethe arms toward the open position of the flat iron 201.

Each of the first and second arms 203a, 203b comprises an outer shell orhousing member 209, 210, respectively, and a heating member assemblysecured thereto (only heating member assembly 214 associated with thefirst arm is illustrated). The heating member assemblies 214 of thefirst and second arms 203a, 203b may be substantially identical, and forease of description only, the heating member assembly of the first armonly is described herein, with the understanding that the description ofthe heating member assembly of the first arm may apply equally to theheating member assembly of the second arm. Referring to FIG. 8, theheating member assembly 214 comprises a thermally conductive heatingmember 216, which may be constructed of any suitable material, such as,without limitation, metal, ceramic materials or combinations thereof; aheating unit 217 disposed within the housing member 209; and atemperature sensing unit (not shown), which may include a thermistor andheat conductor in thermal contact with the heating unit (or heatingmember) and the thermistor.

The heating unit 217 suitably comprises one or more heaters, such aselectrical resistance heaters (e.g., PTC heating units), positioned incontact with or in sufficiently close proximity to the heating member216 to heat the heating member during use of the flat iron 201. Forexample, in one suitable embodiment the heating unit 217 is operable toheat the heating member 216 to a styling temperature of at least about100 degrees Celsius, and may heat the heating member up to a temperatureof about 250 degrees Celsius. In another embodiment the heating unit 217is operable to heat the heating member 216 to a styling temperature inthe range of about 180 to about 230 degrees Celsius. It is understoodthat other suitable heating units or heating methods may be used to heatthe heating member 216 without departing from the scope of thisinvention.

The heating members 216 of the respective heating member assemblies 214of the first and second arms 203a, 203b are sufficiently locatedlongitudinally on the respective arms so that in the closed position ofthe flat iron 201 the heating members 214 sandwich and compress hairtherebetween. In the open position of the flat iron 201, the heatingmembers 216 are spaced apart from one another a sufficient distance toallow the introduction of hair between the heating members.

As set forth above and seen throughout FIGS. 7-10, the flat iron 201includes a touchscreen, generally indicated at 260, to allow a user tocontrol one or more operations of the flat iron. The touchscreen 260 isin electrical communication with a control circuit 262, which isdisposed in one of the housing members 209, 210. In one embodiment,illustrated schematically in FIG. 9, the touchscreen 260 provides a userinterface for a user to communicate with the control circuit 262 so thatthe user can select a desired temperature setting of the flat iron 201,more specifically, a temperature setting of the heating memberassemblies 214. Thus, the touchscreen 260 is adapted to receive one ormore inputs from the user. The touchscreen 260 may be any suitable typeof touchscreen, including but not limited to a resistive touchscreen, asurface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreen, a surface capacitancetouchscreen, a projected capacitance touchscreen, an infraredtouchscreen, an optical imaging touchscreen, a dispersive technologytouchscreen, and an acoustic recognition touchscreen. The touchscreen260, or another screen, may function as an output interface tocommunicate to the user the selected temperature setting.

In one embodiment, the touchscreen 260 generates graphical inputs, suchas icons in the form of right and left arrows 260a, 260b, respectively(FIGS. 8 and 10), to indicate the locations on the touchscreen torespectively increase and decrease the temperature setting. The icons260a, 260b may be of other configurations and/or of other symbolswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. In responseto a finger or other object (e.g., a stylus) touching the location onthe touchscreen 260 corresponding to the right arrow icon 260a (i.e., inresponse to an input by the user), the touchscreen sends a first commandsignal to the control circuit 262. In response to receiving the firstcommand signal, the control circuit 262 sends an electrical firstcontrol signal to the heating member assemblies 214 (e.g., to the PTCheating units 217), which increases the heat output of the heating units217 to increase the temperatures of the heating members 216 by apredetermined increment. Moreover, in response to a finger or otherobject (e.g., a stylus) touching the location on the touchscreen 260corresponding to the left arrow icon 260b (i.e., in response to an inputby the user), the touchscreen sends a different second command signal tothe control circuit 262. In response to receiving the second commandsignal, the control circuit 262 sends a different, second electricalcontrol signal to the heating member assemblies 214, which decreases theheat output of the heating units 217 to decrease the temperatures of theheating members 216 by a predetermined increment. In an alternativeembodiment, indicia, including right and left arrow markings, may beapplied to a surface of the touchscreen instead of the touchscreengenerating the icons.

The illustrated touchscreen 260 also generates graphical output 266 tocommunicate the selected temperature setting, or other selectedoperation, to the user. It is understood, however, that the outputcommunicating the temperature setting to the user may be separate fromthe touchscreen 260, such as on a separate display screen, withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

The touchscreen 260 may also be configured to facilitate control ofother operations of the flat iron 201 in addition to or in lieu ofcontrolling the temperatures of the heating members 216.

In the illustrated embodiment, the flat iron 201 also includes a lockingcontrol 270 for selectively locking the touchscreen 260 to preventinadvertent adjustment of the temperature setting, and to facilitateselective unlocking of the touchscreen to allow adjustment of thetemperature setting. In particular, the locking control 270 of theillustrated embodiment comprises one or more push buttons or othermechanical switches. The push button 270 has indicia indicating itsfunctions of selectively locking and unlocking the touchscreen 260. Thetouchscreen 260 may generate one or more icons, such as icon 272, forindicating when the touchscreen is locked and/or unlocked. In anotherexample, the touchscreen 260 may generate one or more icons to indicatethe location(s) on the touchscreen to respectively lock and unlock thetouchscreen. Other ways of providing a way of locking and unlocking thetouchscreen 260 do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

Within the scope of the present invention are other types of hairstyling appliances for applying heat to hair and including atouchscreen, such as the touchscreen 260 set forth above, to allow auser to communicate with a control circuit of the hair stylingappliance. As non-limiting examples, other types of hair stylingappliances within the scope of the present invention include curlingirons, blow dryers, and hair setters (also known as hot rollers). Withinthe scope of the present invention, each of these hair stylingappliances includes the touchscreen in communication with a controlcircuit; and a heating member assembly, which is heated by electricenergy such as from a battery source or another source of electricalenergy. In each of these exemplary hair removing appliances, the controlcircuit is configured to receive a command signal from the touchscreenin response to an input, and in response to receiving the commandsignal, the control circuit controls an operation of the hair removingappliance. For example, in each of the exemplary hair removingappliances set forth, the control circuit may be configured to controlthe temperature of the heating member assembly. With respect to anexemplary blow dryer, the touchscreen may allow the user to control thespeed of the fan, in addition to the temperature of the air.

When introducing elements of the present invention or preferredembodiments thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” areintended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms“comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive andmean that there may be additional elements other than the listedelements.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methodswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description and shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric, handheld hair grooming appliancecomprising: a housing; at least one hair grooming device adapted tofacilitate grooming hair, said at least one hair grooming devicecomprising a movable comb; a comb-driving assembly operatively coupledto the comb for moving the comb to a selected hair cut-length setting ofthe hair grooming appliance; a control circuit in the housing foroperating said at least one hair grooming device; and a touchscreen onat least one of the at least one hair grooming device and the housingfor receiving at least one input from a user to facilitate communicationbetween the user and the control circuit, the touchscreen beingconfigured to send at least one command signal to the control circuit inresponse to receiving said at least one input from the user; and alocking control for selectively locking the touchscreen, wherein thecontrol circuit is configured to control said movement of the at leastone hair grooming device in response to receiving said at least onecommand signal such that the user is able to operate the at least onehair grooming device using the touchscreen, and wherein the touchscreenis configured to receive a first input of said at least one input fromthe user and send a first command signal of said at least one commandsignal to the control circuit in response to receiving said first input,and wherein the touchscreen is configured to receive a second input ofsaid at least one input from the user and send a second command signalof said at least one command signal to the control circuit in responseto receiving said second input, the control circuit being configured tocontrol the comb-driving assembly to move the comb to increase thecut-length setting of the hair grooming appliance in response toreceiving said first command signal, and configured to control thecomb-driving assembly to move the comb to decrease the hair cut-lengthsetting of the hair grooming appliance in response to receiving saidsecond command signal.
 2. An electric hair grooming appliance as setforth in claim 1 wherein the touchscreen is configured to generate afirst icon for indicating a first location on the touchscreen forreceiving the first input, and to generate a second icon for indicatinga second location on the touchscreen for receiving the second input. 3.An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 1 furthercomprising indicia applied to the touchscreen, the indicia including afirst marking for indicating a first location on the touchscreen forreceiving the first input, and a second marking for indicating a secondlocation on the touchscreen for receiving the second input.
 4. Anelectric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 1 furthercomprising: a reciprocating blade; and an electric motor for moving theat least one hair grooming device said reciprocating blade at a selectedspeed-setting.
 5. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth inclaim 1 wherein the hair grooming appliance comprises a locking controlfor selectively locking the touchscreen.
 6. An electric, handheld hairgrooming appliance comprising: a housing; at least one hair groomingdevice adapted to facilitate grooming hair, said at least one hairgrooming device comprising one of a movable hair cutting blade and amovable hair pinching plate; a drive assembly operatively coupled to oneof the hair cutting blade and the hair pinching plate; a control circuitin the housing for operating said at least one hair grooming device; anda touchscreen on at least one of the at least one hair grooming deviceand the housing for receiving at least one input from a user tofacilitate communication between the user and the control circuit, thetouchscreen being configured to send at least one command signal to thecontrol circuit in response to receiving said at least one input fromthe user, wherein the control circuit is configured to control saidmovement of the at least one hair grooming device in response toreceiving said at least one command signal such that the user is able tooperate the at least one hair grooming device using the touchscreen, andwherein the touchscreen is configured to receive a first input of saidat least one input from the user and send a first command signal of saidat least one command signal to the control circuit in response toreceiving said first input, and wherein the touchscreen is configured toreceive a second input of said at least one input from the user and senda second command signal of said at least one command signal to thecontrol circuit in response to receiving said second input, the controlcircuit being configured to control the drive assembly to decrease thespeed of the one of the blade and the plate in response to receivingsaid first command signal, and adapted to control the drive assembly toincrease the speed of the one of the blade and the plate in response toreceiving said second command signal.
 7. An electric hair groomingappliance as set forth in claim 6 wherein the touchscreen has a firsticon for indicating a first location on the touchscreen for receivingthe first input, and a second icon for indicating a second location onthe touchscreen for receiving the second input.
 8. An electric, handheldhair grooming appliance comprising: a housing; at least one hairgrooming device adapted to facilitate grooming hair, said at least onehair grooming device comprising a movable comb; a comb-driving assemblyoperatively coupled to the comb for moving the comb to a selected haircut-length setting of the hair grooming appliance; a control circuit inthe housing for operating said at least one hair grooming device; and atouchscreen on at least one of the at least one hair grooming device andthe housing for receiving at least one input from a user to facilitatecommunication between the user and the control circuit, the touchscreenbeing configured to send at least one command signal to the controlcircuit in response to receiving said at least one input from the user,wherein the control circuit is configured to control said movement ofthe at least one hair grooming device in response to receiving said atleast one command signal such that the user is able to operate the atleast one hair grooming device using the touchscreen, wherein thetouchscreen is configured to receive a first input of said at least oneinput from the user and send a first command signal of said at least onecommand signal to the control circuit in response to receiving saidfirst input, and wherein the touchscreen is configured to receive asecond input of said at least one input from the user and send a secondcommand signal of said at least one command signal to the controlcircuit in response to receiving said second input, the control circuitbeing configured to control the comb-driving assembly to move the combto increase the cut-length setting of the hair grooming appliance inresponse to receiving said first command signal, and configured tocontrol the comb-driving assembly to move the comb to decrease the haircut-length setting of the hair grooming appliance in response toreceiving said second command signal, and wherein the hair groomingappliance further comprises a mechanical locking control for selectivelylocking the touchscreen to prevent inadvertent adjustment of thecut-length setting.
 9. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forthin claim 8 wherein the mechanical locking control is a push button. 10.An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 9 wherein thepush button and the touchscreen are mounted on the same side of thehousing.
 11. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim10 wherein the push button is situated below the touchscreen.
 12. Anelectric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 11 wherein theappliance generates a graphical output to communicate the cut-lengthsetting to a user, the graphical output being located on the same sideof the housing as the touchscreen and the push button.
 13. An electrichair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 12 wherein the touchscreengenerates a graphical icon denoting an area of the touchscreen which istouchable for adjusting the cut-length setting.
 14. An electric hairgrooming appliance as set forth in claim 13 wherein the graphical iconis a plurality of spaced-apart graphical icons.
 15. An electric hairgrooming appliance as set forth in claim 14 wherein the graphical iconsare arrow-shaped.
 16. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forthin claim 14 wherein the graphical output is generated on thetouchscreen.
 17. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth inclaim 14 wherein the graphical output is not generated on thetouchscreen.
 18. An electric hair grooming appliance as set forth inclaim 17 wherein the graphical output is a numerical output.
 19. Anelectric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 18 wherein thenumerical output is presented in units of tenths of millimeters.
 20. Anelectric hair grooming appliance as set forth in claim 14 whereinappliance generates a locking icon indicating that the touchscreen islocked.